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Once upon a time there was a lonely monster named Jack. He lived in a far far away village in a far far away mansion. The people of the village feared the monster Jack and despised him.
Four hunters lived with the monster, Jack. Omi the naive. Raimundo the brash. Kimiko the vain. And Clay the coward.
The people of the village loved them. However, like the people of the village, the hunters were not very kind to the monster.
But the monster Jack had nothing and considered these hunters his friends.
It was a rather eventful day for Jack. First thing in the morning he finds his friends had eaten all of the food that they had.
"Why didn't you go into town and buy more food?" Jack asked the hunters sleeping off all the food they ate.
"Why should we?" Kimiko whined. "We're Xiaolin hunters! We're too busy training to do something as stupid as shopping. Besides, we're your guests. You're supposed to feed us!"
"Oh, she is right, puny monster!" Omi jumped in smiled a thousand-watt smile. "An honorable host always takes care of his guests."
"Yeah so get moving," Raimundo added.
Jack sighed. He didn't mind shopping for them since they were his guests. He just wished it wasn't so often.
His trip went fairly well until a little girl ripped off the ragged cloak he was wearing. The townspeople recognized his stitched and discolored form immediately and gave chase with torches and pitchforks.
They kept screaming, "Frankenstein! Frankenstein!". He got it, he was a Frankenstein unit, they didn't need to yell it at him.
Jack thankfully managed to grab the needed supplies he came for before he bolted. He didn't know exactly why the villagers hated them, they just always had.
The books at the mansion didn't have any answers and asking his friends never worked. Omi would give him this confused look like Jack was missing the obvious, Clay would grimace and ignore his questions, and Raimundo and Kimiko would sneer at him and punch/kick him.
The monster returned to his father's mansion successful in his mission and with minimal injuries.
His father, Dr. Spicer was on a journey touring the world and left Jack in charge. He had told Jack that a guest would be staying with him while he was gone and that the guest wouldn't arrive for at least another five months.
This made Jack excited and nervous. Maybe Jack could make a new friend?
Soon after his father left a group of hunters claiming to be Xiaolin hunters said they were friends and his father told them to stay here.
That was strange. Dr. Spicer said their guest wouldn't arrive for another four months. They said they finished their work early and are you going to let us in we're freezing out here you idiot. That was four months ago.
The robot he programmed for cooking made them lunch, but Jack ate alone in his lab like always. His friends disapproved of his raw meat diet for some reason. It wasn't all bad, though. He had his robots to keep him busy! If he could only keep his friends from accidentally destroying them.
Jack couldn't help but smile sadly at his creations. Even with his friends in the mansion, it was still pretty lonely.
"Sir, would you like the liver and tomato pudding or the heart quiche for dessert?" His best friend JB21 asked.
"I'll have the soup tonight JB21. Oh and bring back my jump start cables. I'm running low in electricity."
One night, the monster Jack came across a grumpy bat. A grumpy bat the monster Jack called Mr. Bat. The monster Jack liked the grumpy bat very much.
Jack lost himself in the rhythm of his work. He loved building his creations like a plant loved the sun.
He didn't know how much time passed before JB21 finally interrupted him.
"I'm sorry, Master Jack, but it is my duty to inform you it would be unhealthy for you to stay up for much longer."
Jack removed his goggles and stretched. "Hmm, yeah alright JB21. See ya in the morning then."
The monster made his way down the halls he grew up in. Rain pelted the windows and lightning lit up the sky every now and then. Huh, he didn't know it was raining.
Cheering caught Jack's attention. Looking into the kitchen, he saw his friends partying like there was no tomorrow.
Jack ignored the fact that his friends didn't invite him to their late night party and trudged to bed. Well, it looked like he would have to go back to the village again.
The monster changed and snuggled into bed. Wait a minute.
He thought he saw an outline outside the window.
Lightning struck and the monster shrieked, cocooning himself in his blankets and hid under the bed. Eyes! Whatever was out there was staring at him with great beady eyes!
He should probably run to his friends for help...Actually he should keep this to himself.
Hesitantly turning his bedside light on, the teen peered at his window from behind his bed.
Jack wanted to slap himself. It was just a bat. A rather large one, but still a bat. It looked like a vampire bat. What was it doing here? Poor thing was probably trying to take cover from the storm. It must be drenched to the bone by now. He should let it in and help it!
Jack opened the window cautious of the rainfall.
"Hello." Jack greeted careful not to scare the animal. The vampire bat looked at Jack with intelligent eyes. This didn't surprise Jack. Bats were quite smart after all. "There's room in here if you'd like. It's warm and dry, I promise. I won't hurt you. Please?"
The black bat appeared to weigh the pros and cons before begrudgingly accepting. Jack stepped out of the way as it glided in and climbed onto rails holding up the bed curtains.
Jack grinned at the animal. This was so exciting! Oh boy! A new friend! He sat cross-legged under the bat staring up at it with sparkling eyes. Friend? Friend!
The bat sent him a glare over its shoulder before turning its back toward him. That was okay. Jack didn't mind. Then he noticed water dripping off his new friend. He forgot his friend was soaking wet!
"Oh! Just one minute, Mr. Bat, I'll be right back." Jack said hopping off the bed. He placed some towels from the bathroom near the fireplace. The monster reached for his new friend only for it to bite at his fingers. "But Mr. Bat! I have to get you warm or else you'll be sick!"
The animal sent him an insulting glare.
"Pleeeaaaaasssssee?"
It screeched in warning at him but let Jack hold it.
The teen went over to the warm fire and gingerly sat the bat on his lap. He began to gently pat the water in the bats fur out with a towel. The bat settled after a while letting the monster stroke it.
Jack continued to pet the bat even after it's fur was dry. It was nice and fluffy in his fingers.
The animal was bigger than he had thought. It seemed to be about the size of a small dog. Beagle maybe.
They stayed like that, letting the fire lull them into a trance, until Jack began to stifle yawns. "Hey Mr. Bat?"
It looked up at him nonchalantly.
"It's gettin late. You can spend the night here if you want."
The bat seemed to agree and settled back into Jack's hold.
Jack smiled at this. Yay! A sleepover! He'd read about those before. They were supposed to discuss relationship problems and braid each others hair, right? That was kind of impossible since his sleepover partner was an animal and could not technically speak or braid hair.
He guesses he'd just have to settle with what was given to him. It's not like this would ever happen again.
Jack gathered the bat and placed it back where it was on the railing. The monster got to fixing the mess he made with his bed covers and went to bed.
Even with no light, Jack could feel the animal near him and he hoped it would be there when he woke up.
The next morning he searched for the bat but it was gone. Only indication of it ever being there were Jack's memories. Jack felt disappointed. He didn't make a new friend after all.
One day, the grumpy bat left the monster Jack a present to make him happy.
However, the mean mean hunters saw the present and wanted it for themselves.
Jack was ecstatic when the next night his new friend came back!
Tapping alerted him there was something at his window and there was Mr. Bat! Staring expectantly at him like he was an imbecile.
"Mr. Bat, I can't believe you're back! Where did you go? It doesn't matter! Come on in." Jack opened the window and the bat flew back to its place on the curtain railing.
"This is so much fun Mr. Bat! Let's talk about something. Oh wait you can't talk. Then I guess I'll do all the talking for us."
Jack babbled about anything that came to mind. From the books he had read to his robots. Mr. Bat would start to chirp angrily when he mentioned his friends so he stayed away from that topic.
Eventually, the bat flew down from its perch and crawled into Jack's lap, screeching at him to pet it. Jack happily obliged it while he kept talking.
The bat nudged Jack when the teen started to nod off. Jack pouted not wanting to go to bed. He was having too much fun!
He guessed he really should go to bed when he blacked out and found himself slumped on his bed.
The monster crawled under his sheets and giggled when his friend joined him. The vampire bat climbed onto his pillow next to him and stared at him inches from his face. Jack smiled and giggled at the bats antics and fell asleep with a smile. Maybe he could teach Mr. Bat to braid hair so they could have a proper sleepover.
The next morning, Jack was confused to find shiny things on his pillow where Mr. Bat was. He remembered these things were called jewels. A pile of glittering gemstones of all kinds mixed with gold. They were extremely pretty. But...He didn't get it.
Did the bat leave them? Jack liked the idea that the bat left them for him. He remembered his father used to hoard things like these whenever he could. The man said they were precious...He still didn't get it.
He stuffed the jewels in his pocket to take to his lab for more research. Unfortunately he friends didn't agree with him.
Kimiko caught sight of the shiny jewels and let out a shriek. "What is that! Where did you get that!" The girl marched up to him and snatched a handful of gems from his pocket.
"Kimiko stop! I-I found them-wait what are you doing?" Jack yelped when Kimiko stuck her hand in his pocket and fished out all the jewels he had.
"We-uh, we need these Jack! Yeah." Raimundo covered. "These are really like dangerous. And we need all of them. To, you know, help keep you safe." Raimundo smashed his hand over Omi's mouth when the small teen tried to correct him.
Jack didn't like the glint in his friend's eyes. Besides, why would Mr. Bat give him something dangerous? He was his friend after all. But he couldn't tell them about Mr. Bat.
"Where are the rest." Kimiko demanded.
"There isn't anymore. But they're mine! Give them back!" Jack tried to snatch his gift back but the hunters stuffed them away.
"Grr. Follow us." Kimiko grabbed Jack by the arm, her nails digging into his skin, and dragged him off.
She demanded that he help them spare for training for the rest of the day. He always hated it when they ask him to train with them. He wasn't made to fight and was really clumsy but his father did teach him how to dodge.
He didn't know why they insisted he join when all they do was hit each other.
Jack had to call in the medical bot by the end of the day. He had gotten hit a few times by Omi but it was mostly the hunters that were covered in bruises. He really didn't know why they were glaring at him on their way to bed. Did they not like dinner?
Once in his room Jack was ecstatic to find Mr. Bat back again and told him about his day.
"And then Raimundo aimed a kick for my head but I dodged and he hit Clay instead. Hey Mr. Bat, were you the one who left me those shiny things?"
The bat chittered his response.
"Oh that's good...I still don't get it. It was a nice thought though!" Jack quickly reassured Mr. Bat when he gave him a disbelieving look.
"It doesn't matter though. My other friends took it. They said I shouldn't keep them. But they were meant for me, right Mr. Bat?"
Jack didn't think anything of it when the animal nodded in response.
Mr. Bat seemed really angry though. Shrieking and chittering angrily. Flapping its wings in agitation like it wanted to tear into something.
"It's fine Mr. Bat, really. I'm sure they had a good reason. Uh, I know! Why don't we go to my lab! Come one, please! I promise it'll be fun!"
The bat finally calmed down to study him. It bared it's fangs at Jack but glided over to him anyway.
Jack couldn't help but air pump his fists. This was going to be awesome!
"This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to show you all my projects. I'll even introduce you to my Jackbots. They'll love you. Well, not technically love since they're robots-"
The bat blocked out the rest of the monsters rambling as Jack used his secret passage to his lab.
Looking around the lab, the bat didn't recognize a lot of the metallic devices laying around. But Jack seemed to adore every single one of them like each one was a crown jewel. Hmm.
The grumpy bat refused to give up and tried again.
Jack was a bit disheartened when he woke up the next morning alone but he was okay with it. Mr. Bat would surely come back like he did last night.
He didn't find any shiny things this time. Mr. Bat was probably still mad that his friends took them. Maybe he could convince them to give it back.
They didn't.
Instead they got really mad at him and locked him down in the cellar. Jack banged on the door for them to let him out but all he got was a no and retreating footsteps. He really hated it when his friends got mean like this.
Jack slammed his shoulder against the door and heard rattling. They must have used the high-grade chains his father had to chain to door shut. Now what?
The monster searched for another way out but couldn't find any. It was just an ordinary whine cellar. Mucky, covered in cobwebs, and layered in dust from years of disuse. Eventually Jack had no choice but to sit down and wait for something to happen. Unless the wall suddenly collapsed he was stuck down here until he learned how to teleport.
What felt like hours ticked by and Jack finally curled up on the ground and fell into a light sleep.
Movement woke Jack up later. He scanned the room for whatever had moved. A flapping of wings made him looked up at one of the wine cabinets.
"Mr. Bat! You're here!" Jack hugged the bat when he flew to him. "What are you doing here? How did you get in here? My friends chained the door shut. And they probably won't be back until tomorrow."
The bat disappeared behind one of the wine cabinets. When he came back he was holding something in his claws. He dropped whatever it was in Jack's lap.
Jack stared at the velvet package the bat gave him. "Is this for me?"
The bat nodded and Jack unwrapped the cloth. He gasped at what was inside.
Brand new state of the art tools. Jack examined the tools. Sleek and smooth, freshly made. He squealed and hugged them close. "This is so cool! Oh my gosh I love them!"
The grumpy bat succeeded the second time and the monster Jack fell in love with the gift. The grumpy bat was content and showed the monster Jack his real form. The grumpy bat turned human went by the name Chase. Chase became Jack's shining knight in armor and saved Jack from the mean mean hunters.
Jack looked up when Mr. Bat screeched to get his attention.
The bat hovered a few feet in front of him and began to grow. The bat grew and grew until he was the form of a man.
The man smirked down at him. "I'm glad they are to your liking."
Jack stared up at the stranger. He could feel blood pump to his cheeks and the bolts on his neck start to spark. Oops he accidentally dropped his new tools. Wow, he was really handsome. And scary, and a stranger, and why was he just a bat!
The man help Jack up and backed him against the wall. Jack stared up at the crimson eyes looming over him.
"A-Are you Mr. Bat?"
The man seemed to twitch a bit at the name.
"I am Chase Young. A vampire of the Council. Do not address me as...Mr. Bat."
Jack observed the man. He did show all of the traits of a vampire. Pointed ears, bat form, red eyes, sharp fangs. "Oh okay...But why are you here?"
"I believe Dr. Spicer said I was to stay here before he left. Though I can see someone else has taken advantage of my welcome."
"B-But the hunters-"
Chase pulled out a letter and handed it to Jack. It looked like his father's handwriting. Jack read over his father telling Chase he was invited to stay at his mansion while he was in the area and that Jack would help him with anything he needed.
"I'm sorry- I-I didn't know. Oh… The hunters- they-"
"We will speak later. For now we are leaving. The smell of mold in here is disgusting."
"Okay but how-"
Chase smirked at him one last time before teleporting away. Jack looked for the man but turned toward the door when he heard something snapping and chains falling limp.
The next thing Jack knew the door was pushed open and Chase was holding the door opening staring at Jack impatiently.
"Are you coming or not Jack?"
"Y-Yeah." Jack scrambled out of his stupor and followed Chase out. Chase walked the halls like he owned the place and knew what he was doing. Did all vampires hold an air like that or was it just Chase? Jack really hoped it was just Chase. It made him feel kind of giddy inside.
When they reached the main part of the mansion they ran into the Xiaolin gang and Jack flipped out.
"You! You fucking liars!" The closest one to Jack was Raimundo so Jack stomped up to him and punched him square in the jaw. "How dare you-!"
"If I may have the honors Jack? Their actions have been a great insult to me after all."
Jack calmed down and let Chase do as he pleased.
Wow, he didn't know it was possible to fight like that. Or do those types of flips. Or make someone cry that hard. In no time Chase had the hunters beaten to a pulp and thrown out of the mansion.
Jack watched as the group scrambled away with their tails between their legs.
The monster jumped a bit when arms wrapped around his waist. "This is going to be an interesting courting." Chase purred out resting his chin on Jack's head.
"Courting? What courting?"
"The gifts Jack. I have to admit you have an unusual taste finery. Interesting."
Oh yeah. Vampires courted by asking entrance into the others home and leaving presents."...Oh." Jack blush bright red and tried to hide his face but he was sure Chase could still see it.
And the vampire Chase and the monster Jack lived happily ever after.
The end.